MOUNT VERNON — In 2022, The Knox County Veterans Service Office attracted more than 400 new veterans to its location on East Chestnut Street. Of those, about 200 filed new claims or received some type of assistance.
Executive Director Kevin Henthorn credits the increase to the VSO sharing its new location with the Board of Elections, a “huge advertising splash,” and a variety of veteran and community outreach programs.
“All of the outreach that we do is working.” – Kevin Henthorn, director of the Knox County Veterans Service Office
Veteran outreach includes a partnership with Snyder Funeral Homes to educate spouses on survivor and dependents death benefits and pensions, providing a place for a veteran to watch an afternoon ball game, sponsoring a veterans’ picnic, and providing holiday hams in December. In 2022, the agency gave out 1,366 hams.
“That’s 1,366 bodies walking through the front door in the space of 18 days that we’re making a personal connection with,” Henthorn, a US Air Force veteran, told the county commissioners on Tuesday. “Every one of them walk out with a flyer, and we get their information for our system.”
The VSO also offers twice-a-month Brew & Bull sessions, with hospice providing the coffee and donuts. Henthorn said these open-forum, town-hall sessions average 15 to 25 veterans.
In 2022, the Knox County VSO was the only one to contract with the VA health care system for telehealth appointments.
Noting that VA doctors are not real keen on scheduling four-hour blocks of time for appointments, Henthorn said, “Knox County is on the map on the VA level for building the relationship between the VA and county office.”
“It’s pretty cool we are the first and only one to do that,” he added.
Additionally, Henthorn said the VSO hopes to relaunch its counselor program which fell victim to COVID-19. Other programs include help with accessing public terminals.
The VSO continues to provide veterans out-of-county transport for medical appointments, making more than 303 runs in 2022. The vast majority were to Columbus; other locations include Cleveland, Akron, and Dayton.
“When [the program] first started, it was over 1,000 runs. Now, the new generation wants to drive themselves,” Henthorn said.
To accommodate this preference, the VSO provides $15 gas cards. Henthorn said that whereas previously the VSO averaged 20 gas cards a month, now it averages 80. The program’s cost in 2022 was $14,460.
“So, we’re meeting needs,” he said, adding that it’s a win-win because veterans are getting the help they need, and the VSO saves in transport costs.
The VSO also provides financial assistance for rent, food, utilities, and other basic needs. In general, veterans can ask for assistance every 30 days. If they ask more than three times a year, VSO staff will talk with the veteran to discover why the need is becoming chronic.
Henthorn said yearly assistance cost is a “moving target.” In 2021, the VSO spent $37,000 on rent and other needs. The number jumped to $61,000 in 2022.
Henthorn acknowledged that inflation significantly affected the 2022 cost, noting that while the assistance nearly doubled, the number of appointments did not.
Community outreach
The VSO emphasizes community outreach because while a veteran might not need assistance now, veterans and family members will know where to turn when they do.
“We love the relationship that is growing with the county fair,” Henthorn said, adding that the VSO is looking at some sort of permanent location, such as a veterans pavilion, on the fairgrounds.
In addition to a presence at the fair, the VSO participates in other festivals and parades, is a Time and Temperature sponsor on local radio, and sponsors banners at football stadiums, gymnasiums, and baseball fields.
VSO Commissioner Wilson Warner, a U.S. Army vet, said a “really, really big deal” was the Military Appreciation Night held at Mount Vernon and East Knox high schools.
The agency also launched a new commercial that is showing in the movie theater and other locations. Henthorn said that although the VSO does not track how individuals hear about the VSO, the consensus is through billboards and word of mouth.
“Reaching our community as a whole needs to be as important as reaching the veterans themselves,” Henthorn said.
The intangibles
Veteran demographics served by the Knox County VSO are beginning to include the younger generation, veterans returning from Dessert Storm and more recent engagements.
Colin Pack, VSO commissioner and U.S. Marine Corps vet, said that returning veterans are often busy with their families and feel they do not have time for the VSO.
“We tell them we can help their families,” he said.
VSO Commissioner and U.S. Navy veteran Ken Lane said new veterans returning home might have an injury that they don’t feel is “bad enough” but that might prevent them from working. In those cases, he said, the VSO can provide assistance with food and other needs.
“We’re the only state in the union that we do that,” he said.
Henthorn said the VSO takes a proactive philosophy as much as possible.
“Because veterans don’t know what questions to ask, but they will come in for a ham, get information, and came in later for assistance,” he explained.
The VSO helps veterans access better health care through education and easing the financial burden for the cost of prescriptions. Henthorn said those intangibles “aren’t going to show up on any chart.”
“The money we save veterans is astronomical,” he added. “It’s about quality of life.”
Lane said the biggest intangible is the “welcoming” feeling when veterans enter the building, whether it is for donuts, the open forum, or just coming in to watch a ball game.
